The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-07-20
Appalling Accident at Railway Crossing ia
81. Thomas, Ontario.
4 Heavily Laden Excursion Train Dssh.s
Into Passing Freight.
Ths L,ttsr, Full Of OIL, Fires the Passenger
Train With Fatal Results.
Nine Bodies Recovered From the Wreck
ALarge List of Injared-Fu1 De-
tails of the Disaster.

ST. THOMAS, July ia terrible accident
occurred at the crossing of the Grand
Trunk at the Michigan Central IN this city.
About o'clock this evening an excursion
train on the Grand Trunk for Port Stanly
ran into a passing freight train on the
cars were laden with oil. The engine
crashed into one of these cars and the oil
instantly took fire and burned
with great ierceness, communicating to
the cars on both trains and extending to
GT1fhns' warehouse, coal and lime sheds
adjoining the track on the west, and John
CsmpbeiPs dweiling5on the east, all OF
which were burned to the ground with
their contents. Engineer DonnelIy OF the
excursion train was burned in the
wreck; his fireman jumped and escaped
with slight injuries. The forward car of
the excursion train was filed with passen-
gers, who made frantic efforts to escape.
But Notwithstanding hundreds o brave
and willing hands were Immediately at
work to assist in their escape. 1t is feared
a number of lives have been lost and that
they will be burned beyond recognition
before their bodies can be got out
of the wreck. At s O'Clock when thou
sands eli people were crowding around the
burning pile, one OF the Oil tanks on the
cars suddenly exploded, throwing hun
6reds to the ground with great force and
scattering fire in all directions, and Sc
verely, perhaps fatally, iDjuring many.
At $50 o'clock nine bodies were taken
out. They were burned to a crisp.
II is almost impossible to ascertain with
any certainty the names OF those lost in the
wreck until the arrival of the late train
from Port Stanley. There are many con-
hicting rumors but ii seems almost certain
that Engineer 81. Donnelly, Mr.. Zealand,
clerk in ]. & w. Nickelborough's dry goods
store, and child, and the wife and child OF
James SmltheTs, 6ry-gooGs merchant, were
burned to death. Mrs. Zealand was got out
badly burned. Among those injured by
the explosion are the following: Her
man Pomsford, bricklayer, it is
feared fatally; Nelson Godsby, black
SIN tn, burned on the head;
w. H. Joyce, engineer Grand Trunk Rsil-
road, badly burned on both arms; w. II.
Walbourne, chief of the fire department,
burned on the neck; Charles Dake, of the
Dake House, burned on the hands and
back; Richard Woodruff, hack and neck
burned; oliver Noteworthy, back and
neck burned; Archie Norsworhy, neck
and arms burned A son OF Mr.. Potts,
MASTERY mechnnic Michigan Central Rail-
road, was burned on the neck, and scores
of others who were taken to their homes
before their names could be learned.
Gangs of men under the direction of
Supt. Morford and Assistant Supt. More
head, of the Michigan Central road, and J..
Stewart, agent for the Grand Trunk Rail-
way. are hard at work removing the debris
and il is expected that the track will be
cleared by daylight. All the telegraph
wires were destroyed and several poles
were burned, thus interrCptIng commani-
cation.